Ramadan Day 5

Alhamdulillāh — Day 5 already.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh.

Today we sit with Al-Qarīb (ٱلْقَرِيب) — The Ever-Near.

Day 5 — ٱلْقَرِيب (Al-Qarīb)

The Ever-Near

Qur’anic Anchor

“When My servants ask you about Me, I am truly near.”
(Qur’an 2:186)

Reflection

Al-Qarīb affirms nearness without intermediaries. No “middle person.” No distance to cross. No gatekeeper. Allah is near—directly, intimately, and immediately.

Classical tafsīr emphasizes responsiveness rather than distance. Al-Qarīb is the Near One—near to humanity by His hearing, His seeing, His knowing, and His witnessing. And the truly successful are those who draw closer to Al-Qarīb in the Hereafter. The point is not that Allah is far and we must shout loudly enough to reach Him. The point is that Allah is near—and our turning matters.

And if we’re honest, many of us know what it feels like to drift.

While we may sometimes feel we have abandoned Him, He never abandons us. Even when we try to run, where can we truly go? He is the constant presence in a world of variables—ever near, constantly present.

Therapeutically, this Name speaks to one of the most painful inner patterns: abandonment schemas—the deep-seated belief that loved ones are unreliable, that they will inevitably leave, or that emotional connection is fragile and temporary. This fear can lead to self-sabotaging behaviours that damage our relationships and ourselves.

Abandonment schemas.

That fear that you are alone.
That sense that connection is fragile.
That expectation that people will inevitably withdraw, leave, or stop caring.
That belief that you will end up emotionally stranded.

Al-Qarīb disrupts that story at its roots: Allah does not abandon you. If anything, we are the ones who drift. Even when a person tries to “run,” where can anyone run from Allah? He is always there—ever near, constantly present.

And this is why Al-Qarīb is the ultimate counter to that distortion. I tell my clients: even if it feels like “everyone” has left you, the One who created you remains closer than your jugular vein. You are not calling out into an empty void or a vast absence; you are speaking within proximity. Your prayers are not travelling a great distance to reach Him—they are being heard in the very space where you breathe.

This is also why, when clients come in carrying fear of rejection, feeling unlovable, or bracing for abandonment, I return them to Al-Qarīb. Because the One who created you in the first place is not the kind of “lover” who disappears. Allah has told us He is near—and His nearness is not fragile. It holds.

So even if someone says, “Everybody leaves me,” and it feels true in their nervous system—even if that belief is amplified by pain—Al-Qarīb gives a deeper anchor: you are never calling out into emptiness.

You are not speaking into absence.
You are not making du‘ā into a void.
You are not crying into silence.

You are speaking within proximity.

So your du‘ā today can be simple:

Yā Al-Qarīb, steady me with Your nearness.
Yā Al-Qarīb, help me remember You are ever near.

And because these first ten days are mercy—this is part of that stabilising: to feel, again and again, that you are not alone, and you were never alone.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh.

Du‘ā Prompt

“O Al-Qarīb, steady me with Your nearness. Help me to remember that You are here, even when I feel alone.”

Action Prompt

In a moment of distress today, pause and orient inward rather than seeking immediate distraction. Rest in the knowledge that you are witnessed.